The Future Is Now! MIT Develops Programmable Droplets Technology

Technology is bringing the future to us quicker and quicker. It is making the unimaginable become a reality and providing new ways to do things across the whole spectrum of our lives. Today we get a look at some new technology developed by the brilliant minds at MIT. Here researchers are developing a technology that transforms water droplets into programmable, interactive tools. This could be used for entertainment purposes or even communication, providing users with the ability to digitally program water droplets.

The Programmable Droplets technology finds water droplets taken for everyday environments and manipulated through a computer interface. The project is led by researcher Udayan Umapathi and professor Hiroshi Ishii. Umapathi spoke about the project and stated: “If you think about it, as we walk in rain, wash our hands or even work in laboratories, we are constantly interacting with water.” Umapathi went further to add “So we started asking the question, if this beautiful and inspiring material which is ever-present could give us a ‘calm’ computer interface. To show that this is possible, we have created the Programmable Droplets system for interaction.” The system utilizes the “electrowetting” technique, which can be traced back to experiments from the 19th century according to Umapathi.

The system uses a printed circuit board that has been coated with a low-friction material while covered with a grid of copper wiring. “By programmatically controlling the electric field of the grid, we are able to change the shape of polarisable liquid droplets and move them around the surface,” explained Umapathi. The interesting technology can be seen in the video below. Have a look at the clip and let us know what you think in the comments below. Keep it locked for much more from MIT coming soon.